Shortly after the website makeover we recently did at Jorge Ordonez & Co I started thinking about incorporating this blog with the website, and this week we finally made the move!

For all of you who have enjoyed following my musings here, please take note of my new address:

Victoria Ordoñez
Musings of a Málaga Wine Goddess

Spanish Wine Alternatives
Central Market, Dallas
May 2011

by Andrew Chalk from D Magazine / Side Dish

Few people have contributed as much to our knowledge of Spanish wine as winemaker and importer Jorge Ordóñez. He has imported wines from hitherto unheard of regions of Spain and systematically raised their profiles in the wine buyer’s consciousness. He was in town this weekend as part of Central Market’s Pasaporte España festival where he spoke about his wines made from the Garnache grape. I interviewed him about Spanish wine alternatives, both red and white.

Decanter Regional Trophy for “Sweet Spain over £10“

The bodega buys in grapes from local growers but also has some of its own vineyards in Almáchar, about 15 km from the winery, on a slope too steep for any kind of mechanisation, which is farmed by hand and without irrigation in the traditional Málaga style. The grape is the Moscatel de Alejandria, from old, free-standing vines in slate and limestone soils. No. 3 Viñas Viejas is made with grapes from vines which are between 80 and 100 years old, picked in several stages for maximum ripeness, and then hand-sorted at the winery.

The resulting must is fermented in French oak and the fermentation is stopped by chilling rather than fortification, when Gerhard decides that it’s at its optimum – in this case 13.5% abv.

This charming video by sommelier Anne Strand (aka Wino Woman) pairs Botani with a fresh spring day. Of course I think that Botani goes great with anything all year round, but I like this video because it’s not only a bit unusual but also very informative.

Cheers Anne!

Today I’m heading to Texas to take part in Central Market’s Pasaporte España, which started May 11th and runs until the 24th.

Central Market is a gourmet grocery store chain that specializes in high-quality, hard-to-find gourmet foods. Most locations also have a full-service kitchen and offer cooking and wine classes in their culinary school, as well as catering services. This year’s Central Market two-week-long “passport” event focuses on the culture, food and wines of Spain, with an all-star list of culinary celebrities and winemakers.

I’ll be there with my brother Jorge until Sunday taking part in wine tastings, dinners, and cooking school events, which will take me to Dallas, Southlake, Austin and Houston. Along with our wines from Bodegas Ordoñez, we’ll also be presenting wines from Bodegas LaCana and Avanthia.

Watch for updates and photos on Twitter and Facebook!

Central Market Pasaporte España

This year we are once again participating in the Wine Spectator Grand Tour.

Wine Spectator Grand Tour 2011
Participating Wineries

Very complex. Intense color, marmalade. On the nose, captivating with its aromas of marmalade and caramelized tropical fruits. Great depth and concentration and a long and pure finish.

Esencia is a unique wine that incorporates the raisined muscat grape. After 24 months in barrel, we achieve a partial fermentation of the must. Alois Kracher, through this wine, sought to convey the essence of the village of Almáchar, in the heart of the Axarquía, famous from time immemorial for its delicious muscat grapes and raisins.

Many people ask me why Esencia doesn’t have the vintage year on the label.

The answer is that Esencia isn’t in the DO Málaga. There is no place in the Regulatory Board, which was founded in 1933, for a wine that combines its characteristics of concentration without added alcohol.

You would have to go back to the 16th-17th century to find a Malagueño wine like this: mosto yema, very concentraded and without alcohol added. Garcia de La Leña tells us about this in his Conversaciones Históricas Malagueñas (book 13, chapter 9) describing a wine very similar to Esencia called Tender Wine, which was the most appreciated Malagueño wine. Pliny remembers a wine called Diachyton, that in his time, he says, was made from grapes that spent seven days in the sun, and were pressed by foot on the eighth.

The name Esencia was Alois Kracher’s idea, inspired by Tokaji, which is prepared in a similar way (mosto yema and high concentration). The difference, in addition to the variety of grape used, is that in Tokaji the grape is concentrated by botritis and we concentrate by drying the grapes in the shade with the country air. So what we get in the end is a raisin without leaving it in the sun. To me the name Esencia seems doubly appropriate because Almáchar is the realm of Moscatel raisins in Málaga.

I am particularly pleased with Esencia 2005, which is slightly less concentrated than the 2004, but the grapes had more acidity and I think this has given a touch of freshness to this wine that I love.

Versión español abajo:

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Mucha gente me pregunta por qué Esencia no lleva la añada en la etiqueta.

La respuesta es que Esencia creó una categoría por si mismo, por lo que no lleva la Denominación Málaga. No existe en la norma del Consejo Regulador (que se fundó en 1933) un vino que reuna estas caracteristicas de concentración pero sin alcohol añadido.

Tendriamos que irnos hasta el siglo XVI – XVII para encontrar un vino Malagueño de este tipo: mosto yema, muy concentrado y sin alcohol añadido. Seguí no cuenta Garcia de La Leña en sus Conversacions Malagueñas (lib. 14 cap. 9). Plinio hace memoria de un vino llamado Diachyton, que en su tiempo, dice, se hacía de uvas pasadas por siete días al Sol, y pisadas al octavo; pues este es el Vino Tierno Malagueño…

Cortase la uva en el mes de Agosto con el maduro correspondiente: tiendese en el Amijar, o lagareta, donde se está hasta que se hace como pasa; en cuyo mas o menos pasado consiste la mayor o menor calidad y finura de este vino [...] entonces se pisa con mucha fuerza, y trabajo, por su dureza. A costa de muchos estrujos sale una especie de miel [...]. Este vino es muy costoso, porque de cada carga de uva, que se compone de cinco aportaderas, y de siete a ocho arrobas, lo más que sale es arroba y quarto de la mejor calidad, y es el fruto más precioso, y particularmente Malagueño.

El nombre de Esencia fue idea de Alois Kracher que se inspiró en los Tokaji que se elaboran de forma similar (mosto yema y alta concentración). La diferencia, además de la variedad utilizada, es que in Tokaji concentran la uva por botrilis y nosotros la concentramos por secado a la sombra con el aire del campo. Con lo cual lo que obtenemos al final es una pasa sin asoleo. El nombre de Esencia me parece doblemente oportuno porque Almachar es el reino de la pasa de Moscatel de Málaga.

Estoy particularmente contento con Esencia 2005, es ligeramente menos concentrado que el 2004, pero la uva tenía más acidez y creo que esto le ha dado un punto de frescura a este vino que me encanta.

Last night I attended a special wine tasting at the Vináliti Club de Vinos in Málaga.

Vináliti Escuela de Cata, Vinos e Itinerarios Enológicos is a tasting school that was created in late 2004 in response to the demand for quality wines and offers both training and tourism. You can learn about winemaking and take wine tasting courses, or you can visit wineries and learn more about wine tourism heritage.

At the Club de Vinos I was pouring Botani, Selección Especial nº1, Victoria nº2, Avanthia Godello (white) and Menthia (red), and La Cana Albariño (white), which as always, went down very well. A great night.

I’m back in Málaga today after a wonderful week in San Francisco and Los Angeles with Sara Floyd. Here are a few of my “memories”, or at least of the times I remembered to take a quick photo and post it on Twitter. I really must remember to take photos of the food dishes before I eat most of them, but at least I got a couple that weren’t just of leftovers.

With Sara Floyd in LA... we were a bit blurry after a few glasses of Botani and La Cana

This week I am in San Franscisco and Los Angeles with Master Sommelier Sara Floyd, who represents over 40 Spanish wineries for Jorge’s company, Fine Estates from Spain.

I went on a fantastic walking tour of San Fransicso and then had a great dinner with the Henry Wine Group at Michael Mina’s impressive RN 74. I’ve also been to some other fabulous restaurants and have sampled an incredible range of cuisine, from tapas in the Noe Valley to sushi in Japantown. And of course, terrific seafood at La Mar. All of which provided some excellent opportunities to show the versatility of Botani along with some interesting pairings with our sweet wines.

Today we are in LA and I’m looking forward to a great weekend here with Sara visiting distributors, clients and going to some more great restaurants.